Looking back at the ‘heart’ of AMPI’s dairy operation
Sale of Associated Milk Producers Inc. butter plant now finalized
serve as as butter plant for AMPI until its sale to Grassland Dairy Products late last year. Submitted photograph
AMPI corporate headquarters has been located in New Ulm at 3rd N. and Broadway since the 1990s. AMPI plans to keep its headquarters in New Ulm due to its central location between its six plants spread around the Midwest. Photo by Clay Schuldt
An aerial photo of the former AMPI butter plant taken in Oct. 1997. The facility has since sustained a fire in 2004 and rebuild in 2005. In 2025 the butter plant was sold to Grassland Dairy Products. Photo by Don & Dan Steffl
A photo of the AMPI butter plant fire on Dec. 1, 2004. New Ulm firefighters spay water on the roof the AMPI butter plant from the top of an aerial ladder truck. Photo by Steve Muscatello
In 1971, two years after AMPI was founded, more than 40,000 association members attended the second annual meeting in Chicago. At the time is was considered of the largest gathering of farmers in national history. Submitted photo
In 2025, a butter cow created for the Iowa State Fair was put on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The butter used to make the cow was produced by AMPI in New Ulm’s butter plant. Submitted photo
serve as as butter plant for AMPI until its sale to Grassland Dairy Products late last year. Submitted photograph
AMPI corporate headquarters has been located in New Ulm at 3rd N. and Broadway since the 1990s. AMPI plans to keep its headquarters in New Ulm due to its central location between its six plants spread around the Midwest. Photo by Clay Schuldt
An aerial photo of the former AMPI butter plant taken in Oct. 1997. The facility has since sustained a fire in 2004 and rebuild in 2005. In 2025 the butter plant was sold to Grassland Dairy Products. Photo by Don & Dan Steffl
A photo of the AMPI butter plant fire on Dec. 1, 2004. New Ulm firefighters spay water on the roof the AMPI butter plant from the top of an aerial ladder truck. Photo by Steve Muscatello
In 1971, two years after AMPI was founded, more than 40,000 association members attended the second annual meeting in Chicago. At the time is was considered of the largest gathering of farmers in national history. Submitted photo
In 2025, a butter cow created for the Iowa State Fair was put on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The butter used to make the cow was produced by AMPI in New Ulm’s butter plant. Submitted photo
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On the final day of 2025, the sale of Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) butter plant in New Ulm to Grassland Dairy Products was finalized.
The butter plant, located at 312 Center Street, continues to produce butter and receive AMPI cream but now operates under Grassland. Though AMPI no longer owns the butter plant, it will continue to have a presence in New Ulm with its corporate offices at 3rd North and Broadway.
AMPI Marketing Vice President Sarah Schmidt said AMPI's headquarters, which employs 60 people, will remain in New Ulm. One of the main reasons for keeping the AMPI headquarters is logistics
"New Ulm sits at the heart of AMPI's manufacturing plant network, connecting our cheese and dairy powder operations across the Midwest, including sites in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota," Schmidt said.
With the sale of the New Ulm butter plant, AMPI operates six facilities including plants in Sanborn, Iowa; Freeborn, South Dakota; Paynesville, Minnesota; Blair, Wisconsin; Jim Falls Wisconsin and Portage Wisconsin. New Ulm is centrally located between these plants making it easier to provide different services to its plants.
But how did New Ulm become the center of AMPI's dairy operation?
It all goes back to AMPI's early founding. AMPI formally organized on Oct. 1, 1969. As the name suggests, AMPI is an association of multiple dairy producers. In the late '60s and early '70s there were few small dairy co-ops and private creameries still active. Milk prices were low, but the overhead cost to produce products was high.
In late 19th Century and early 20th Century it was not unusual for every community in the Midwest to have its own dedicated creamery. Nearly every township in Brown County had creameries, many of which were successful for decades.
Before refrigeration technology became common, dairy products could not be shipped across great distances. Dairy farmers needed a local site to take their products.
As dairy productions improved and safety requirements increased, some of the smaller creameries could not compete on their own. This led to the consolidation of several creameries into co-ops. One of the more successful co-ops in Brown County was Five Star Dairyland, which was based in New Ulm.
When AMPI formed in 1969, Five Star Dairyland was one of the first to merge into the larger association This connected Five Star Dairy with other dairy co-ops across the United States.
By 1971, two years after forming, AMPI had 45,000 members. AMPI's second annual meeting held in Chicago that year was called the largest convention of farmers at the time. The event drew the attention of then president Richard Nixon who attended the meeting in Chicago.
In the early days, New Ulm's dairy operation was only one of many co-op members. The AMPI network of members was divided between three regions: North Central region, Morning Glory region and Southern region. AMPI's first national headquarters was located in Texas. This structure remained in place until the 1990s.
In 1995, the Morning Glory region of AMPI was sold. A few years later, the Southern region merged with another coop and changed names. The North Central region, which included New Ulm, was allowed to keep the AMPI name and the headquarter were relocated to New Ulm, where it remains.
On Dec. 1, 2004, AMPI in New Ulm faced one of its greatest setbacks. A fire ravaged the New Ulm butter plant. The New Ulm butter plant fire was one of the most infamous in the community. Since the fire occurred at a butter plant, firefighters had to contend no only with the blaze, but melted butter too.
The plant was holding an estimated 3 million pounds of butter when the fire began.
New Ulm Fire Chief Curt Curry said it was the most difficult fire he had fought in his years on the force.
"It was like a 3 million-pound grease fire," Curry said.
Water does not put out a grease fire.
Around 2,000 gallons of special foam was needed to extinguish the fire. NUFD had around 125 gallons of foam on hand. The rest needed to come from Hutchinson and Cottage Grove.
In the aftermath of the fire, one person was hurt, but the plant was severely damaged and it was not certain if the plant would continue.
In the end, AMPI leaders chose to invest $14 million to rebuild the butter plant. The rebuild was completed a year after the fire in December 2005.
The butter plant remained with AMPI for the next 20 years until the sale to Grass land Dairy at the end of 2025. Grassland Dairy operates out of Greenwood, Wisconsin and is a multi-generation family businesses with a focus on butter. The sale of the AMPI butter plant will allow New Ulm to focus on the cheese operation.
Thought the butter plant is no longer under AMPI, corporate headquarters are committed to remaining in New Ulm, a community it has called home for over 50 years.
"We got a great team of employees who have built lives here," Schmid said. "We want to keep that team together."